Ford Says they are going to make their own chips....

This is a huge deal.

gizmohd

Ford, GM Step Into Chip Business - WSJ

I like barbecue

DiamondUndies

This is a huge deal.

Phenomenal deal. We need to be WAY less dependent on China for stuff.

SuperMike

Phenomenal deal. We need to be WAY less dependent on China for stuff.

Very few “chips” come from China, unless you count Taiwan as China.

3Dogs

Very few “chips” come from China, unless you count Taiwan as China.

China does... :LOL: But to your point... we need to be far less reliant on critical goods being produced offshore in a way that leaves them floating in cargo ships for weeks on end before they can be offloaded and transported.

3Dogs

Very few “chips” come from China, unless you count Taiwan as China.

The way our country is operating at this time Taiwan will be China before you know it

Bronco 202?

The way our country is operating at this time WE will be China before you know it

Fixed it for ya

SuperMike

China does... :LOL: But to your point... we need to be far less reliant on critical goods being produced offshore in a way that leaves them floating in cargo ships for weeks on end before they can be offloaded and transported.

People talk about this all the time, but nobody wants to pay more for the products they buy.
I’m in Electronics design/manufacturing, and I’m more aware than most people about the dangers of off-shore sourcing, but still, people buy the cheapest crap they can find...

ford is making their own chips? Sounds more like they made an agreement with a US company and that will be doing all the work. Hopefully this doesn't become and webasto disaster.

3Dogs

People talk about this all the time, but nobody wants to pay more for the products they buy.
I’m in Electronics design/manufacturing, and I’m more aware than most people about the dangers of off-shore sourcing, but still, people buy the cheapest crap they can find...

This is true across the board, not just in electronics. Manufacturing has moved off shore for years, and we have been fed a steady diet of cheap goods from overseas by the likes of Walmart. It's a vicious circle. 1. Manufacturing moves off shore, taking good paying union jobs with it. 2. People are thrown out of work, and the jobs they can find don't pay very well. 3. So, they NEED those cheap goods in order to survive on the slave wages that they are getting paid. 4. So the Walmarts of the world pressure manufacturers to reduce their prices, and then the circle completes itself back to #1. It's a race to the bottom for American workers.

3Dogs

People talk about this all the time, but nobody wants to pay more for the products they buy.
... but still, people buy the cheapest crap they can find...

With all things.

I just hope they don't leak, or squeak!

3Dogs

People talk about this all the time, but nobody wants to pay more for the products they buy.
I’m in Electronics design/manufacturing, and I’m more aware than most people about the dangers of off-shore sourcing, but still, people buy the cheapest crap they can find...

I'd gladly pay more for American-made products, made with American parts. The problem is, people would think they need $40/hour to assemble iPads, while Apply pays $2.00/hour and the manufacturing company pays the worker $0.20/hour. The cost of an iPad would not be $1200, it would be $3500. The savings in shipping, etc., would not even factor. In the end, I likely would not buy a $3500 iPad -- I don't need it that badly. This is the 'global economy' people so badly want. The problem is, one nation can't be all-consuming while another is all-producing, or the balance of wealth is tipped, and eventually the consuming become consumed, themselves. That is the road we're on now. We are in the golden age of gadgets and gizmos, of 'I want it because I saw it'. But someday, our people will all be sidelined and slowly the scales will have to tip the other way. Americans will be glad to work for peanuts just to make a dollar, while they sit at home surrounded by useless products they can no longer use.

This is a brilliant move. If a species doesn't adapt, it goes extinct. If a company doesn't become self-sufficient, it goes bankrupt. Of course, it makes sense to sublet some parts. I think fundamental components such as semiconductors should be produced in house. At first, it may require partnering with a dedicated local vendor. Once they get up to speed, car companies can decide how much to invest in their technological needs. Issues of supply and demand will no longer wreak havoc on production schedules. More and more subassemblies require semiconductors, so it only seems natural for a car company to assume the responsibility for their production.

SuperMike

I'd gladly pay more for American-made products, made with American parts. The problem is, people would think they need $40/hour to assemble iPads, while Apply pays $2.00/hour and the manufacturing company pays the worker $0.20/hour. The cost of an iPad would not be $1200, it would be $3500. The savings in shipping, etc., would not even factor. In the end, I likely would not buy a $3500 iPad -- I don't need it that badly. This is the 'global economy' people so badly want. The problem is, one nation can't be all-consuming while another is all-producing, or the balance of wealth is tipped, and eventually the consuming become consumed, themselves. That is the road we're on now. We are in the golden age of gadgets and gizmos, of 'I want it because I saw it'. But someday, our people will all be sidelined and slowly the scales will have to tip the other way. Americans will be glad to work for peanuts just to make a dollar, while they sit at home surrounded by useless products they can no longer use.

There’s a lot that’s incorrect in your analysis, but I’ll just say this:
It’s not the cost of labor that is keeping Apple (and other companies) from manufacturing consumer electronics in the US.
Assembly cost is an issue, but the bigger problem is the lack of engineering and support workers. If Apple wanted to build their electronics in the US, they could, for a nominal cost increase, but they wouldn’t do it with huge factories full of people soldering - it would all be robots.
The big issue is the lack of trained support staff to run all those automated factories, and all the other factories that make the components.
This issue has been discussed ad infinitum, and a Bronco forum is probably not the best place to continue it.